




































































































































































































































































Class_ P ~L 7 


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Copyright N° 


COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 


























The 

Brownies’ Quest 

A Day with the Brownies 

3 > 

By CLARA J. DENTON 

AUTHOR OF “ TOPSY ON THE TOP FLOOR,” 

“ UNDER THE PLANTAIN LEAF,” ETC. 

$ 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 

CHICAGO NEW YORK 













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Copyright 1905 

BY 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 








The Brownies Quest 


CHAPTER I 

THE HOLLOW IN THE STUMP 

The King of the Brownies rose from 
his toad-stool throne, and waved his 
wand, which was the vein of an oak- 
leaf. 

“Now, remember,” he said, “it is 
only for this day that my promise holds 
good; so scatter, all of you, and see 
what you can find.” 

Thereupon there was such a patter¬ 
ing of little feet, that had you been 
there you would have said, “Listen to 
the hail storm!” 



4 


The "Brownies’ Quest 

There was one Brownie who, for 
some reason, could not run so fast as 
the others, and, after tumbling along a 
few minutes, trying to keep up with the 
procession, he dropped down on a dan¬ 
delion blossom and caught his breath. 
After a while he said aloud: 

“There is no use for me to try. 
The others are so much more clever 
than I, they will find all the strange 
and curious things before I even get 
started. I might just as well curl up 
somewhere, and sleep the day away as 
usual. But, then, what is it our king 
is always saying—‘You do not know 
what you can do until you try! ’ And, 
oh, what a prize to try for! 

“ Let me see,” he went on, “ how did 
the king’s promise run ? This was it. 


The Hollow in the Stump 5 

— ‘You are all to come here at the 
close of the day and tell of the strange 
and curious things that you have seen, 
and the one who brings in the best 
account shall be given the power of 
understanding human speech.’ 

“ Oh, dear! if I could gain that prize, 
and learn to understand humans when 
they talk, I might grow wise, and some 
day, when I am old and staid, may be 
made king! ” 

The Brownie gave a sigh that made 
the dandelion blossom rock back and 
forth, and went on talking to himself: 

“But, now, the other Brownies are 
all out of sight. I dare say that even 
while I have been sitting here, mourn¬ 
ing and moping, they have seen more 
things than I shall find in the whole day. 



“So it is you, Miss Formica. How glad I am!” 

6 









































































































































The Hollow in the Stump 7 

How I do wish I were clever like the 
others! But I am always behind in 
everything,” and he sighed again. 

“Oh, come, now,” said a soft voice 
near him, “what sort of a chap are you, 
to be sighing like that on this beautiful 
summer day?” 

The Brownie looked all about him 
—up at the big trees and down at the 
soft earth — yet saw not a living crea¬ 
ture. But, presently, from under the 
dandelion blossom, a little brown ant 
darted quickly. 

“Ho! ho!” laughed the Brownie in 
great glee, “ so it is you, Miss Formica. 
How glad I am! I must confess I was 
really frightened at first. I could not 
imagine who was hanging around here 
watching me. Since it is a friend and 


8 


The "Brownies' Quest 

not a foe, I’ll say, ‘good-morning’ and 
‘welcome’ both at once.” 

“Well,” Miss Formica answered, “I 
am a friend to more creatures than are 
friendly to me, I fear. But, now, do 
explain why you were sighing so pit¬ 
eously. I did not suppose that things 
ever went wrong in the Brownie 
world.” 

“That shows how little you know 
about us,” the Brownie said, “I believe 
living is a troublesome piece of busi¬ 
ness to every one. You see, even a 
Brownie cannot make everything go 
his way.” 

He then went on to tell of the 
royal promise. 

“Why, that is a very easy matter,” 
cried the ant, “the world is full of 


9 


The Hollow in the Stump 

strange and interesting things. All 
you have to do is to keep yonr eyes 
and ears open.” 

“That sounds all right, Miss For¬ 
mica,” retorted the Brownie, a little 
impatiently, “but I have been sitting 
here on this dandelion for a long, long 
time, and not a living creature spoke to 
me until you happened along. To be 
sure, the birds are flying all around, 
but they are too far away and too busy 
singing to help me out. A chipmunk 
and a gopher passed by, too, but you 
know they are always in such a hurry 
that one never gets any good out of 
them. Besides, I do not believe there 
is anything so very wonderful in this 
dull wood, and I do not know where 
else to look.” 


10 


The "Brownies’ Quest 

“Do you know,” the ant observed 
mildly, “as you sit up there on the 
dandelion you remind me of some hu¬ 
mans that I have seen.” 

“Oh!” exclaimed the Brownie 
jumping to the ground, and in his de¬ 
light dancing around the little ant, “do 
you really mean that? That is the 
nicest thing I have ever had said to me. 
It is so fine to be a human.” 

“Is it?” asked the ant sharply. 
“Well, that depends. There are many 
kinds of humans, you must know, and I 
would rather be a little brown ant 
than to be like some kinds. ” 

“Oh, dear, are they not all alike— 
great, splendid, wonderful creatures?” 
asked the Brownie in a trembling voice. 
“ Indeed they are not! and the ones 


11 


The Hollow in the Slump 

that you remind me of are those who 
sit down and whine all the time about 
their hard luck, just as you sat on the 
dandelion and thought there was 
nothing in the world but birds, and 
gophers, and chipmunks, because 
nothing else came your way! What 
you must do, is to start out and find 
something interesting.” 

“ How wise you are! ” murmured the 
Brownie, who was beginning to feel 
ashamed of himself. 

“Yes, I once heard a human say 
that a very wise man had put into a 
book—” 

“ What is a book ? ” interrupted the 
Brownie quickly. 

“ Books are things that humans carry 
about with them a great deal. They 


12 


The Brownies’ Quest 

will often sit for hours looking at 
them.” 

“What for?” 

“They call it ‘reading,’ I believe. 
Well, this wise man put into a book, 
though I am sure I don’t know how he 
did it, some words running like this: 

‘ Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider 
her ways, and be wise.’” 

“That sounds all right. I don’t 
know whether I am a sluggard or not, 
for I have never heard of one before ■ 
but I have certainly come to the ant; 
and now you must tell me where to 
find something interesting. I must 
confess, Miss Formica, I should not 
mind seeing a great deal of you, for I 
long to be wise.” 

“Wo matter about that, now, but if 


13 


The Hollow in the Stump 

you really wish to see something curi¬ 
ous and interesting, come with me.” 

The ant darted away, and the 
Brownie’s fat little legs easily kept up 
with her, although he had but two, 
while she had six. Soon they came to 
a big oak stump. 

“Now,” said the ant, “that stump 
has been there ever since I can re¬ 
member. Climb to the top of it, and 
tell me what you see.” 

“Aren’t you coming, too?” asked 
the Brownie, as he pulled himself 
quickly to the top of the stump. 

“Oh, no,” was the answer, “I have 
been up there more times than I can 
count, and I have a great deal to do 
this morning.” 

“Well,” declared the Brownie, im- 


14 The Brownies’ Quest 

patiently, “1 don’t understand why you 
should wish to come up here; there is 
nothing to see, nothing at all.” 

“Are you sure? Now, be careful,” 
cautioned the ant. 

“Of course I am sure. What are 
my eyes for? I don’t see why you 
made me climb up a rough stump like 
this. Of course, if there were any¬ 
thing up here, it would not be so bad, 
but, I have torn my handsome new 
cobweb stockings just for the sake of 
looking at a stump with a hollow in 
it.” 

“Oh, then, you do see something, 
after all. Well, if there is a hollow in 
the stump, what is in the hollow?” 

“Nothing, nothing at all,” answered 
the Brownie, in a disgusted tone. 


15 


The Hollow in the Stump 

“If there is nothing there, then, 
suppose you sit down in the hollow.” 

“Hot much! ” retorted the Brownie, 
“ there is some dirty water in it.” 

“Oh, I thought you said there was 
nothing in it. Well, you sit there on 
the edge of the stump and watch the 
dirty water. If you stay there long 
enough, you will have something pretty 
fine to tell your king to-night. So 
now, good-by, I cannot spend any 
more time with you,” and away Miss 
Formica ran. 

The Brownie called after her with 
all his might. She paid no attention 
to him, but ran on faster and faster 
until her six nimble legs had carried 
her completely out of sight. 

The Brownie gave another sigh, and 


16 The Brownies’ Quest 

this time it was so heavy that it ruffled 
the water in the hollow of the stump. 
He then amused himself by watching 
it closely, to see it grow calm again. 
When, at last, it was perfectly still, 
without a ripple on its surface, he was 
surprised to see something moving 
about in its clouded depths. A closer 
look then showed him that on the sur¬ 
face of the water also were a number of 
queer looking slim brown things. 

“ Well,” he said aloud, and at the 
same time he went nearer to the edge 
of the water, “I have never seen any¬ 
thing like you. What are you, any 
way?” 

“Have you ever seen any thing 
like me?” he heard a low, humming 
voice ask. 


The Hollow in the Stump 17 

The Brownie looked around at the 
creature which stood near him. 

“I should say I have!” he replied 
crossly. “Why, you are nothing but 
a plain every-day mosquito that can be 
seen and heard anywhere,” and he 
moved to the edge of the stump as 
though about to jump down. 

“I am Madam Culex, if you please,” 
said the mosquito with much dignity. 
“You know every one likes to be called 
by his or her proper name.” 

“ Certainly, certainly,” admitted the 
Brownie in a little less disagreeable 
tone, “I am not in the least particular 
as to what I call you, but I am inter¬ 
ested in the little creatures in the water 
there. They are decidedly uncommon, 
while you are quite too common to 


18 The Brownies’ Quest 

awaken even a passing interest in my 
mind.” 

“Now, don’t get saucy, Mr. 
Brownie,” retorted the mosquito 
sharply, “for I must tell you that those 
same little beings in the water are my 
very near relatives.” 

“How can that be?” asked the 
Brownie, “they don’t resemble you in 
the least.” 

“That is true, and yet I was once 
just as they are. In fact, many of those 
creatures are my own offspring, my 
babies, you may say.” 

“Now, that really is interesting,” 
said the Brownie, moving closer to the 
mosquito, and looking her over very 
carefully. “ Miss Formica said that I 
should find something here worth tell- 


19 


The Hollow in the Stump 

ing to the king, and she certainly was 
right. But, if you don’t mind my ask¬ 
ing questions, how many of those tiny 
creatures are your offspring?” 

“Well, I only laid about three hun¬ 
dred eggs here.” 

“Three hundred!” cried the 
Brownie with a gasp, “ why, that seems 
almost impossible, and yet you speak 
of it as though it were not much of a 
thing to do.” 

“It is not, for many female mosqui¬ 
toes lay four hundred eggs at a sitting.” 

“ Dear me! ” exclaimed the Brownie, 
“no wonder there are so many of you.” 

“Yes, and if it were not for the 
fact that our lives are short there 
would soon be no room in the world 
for anything but mosquitoes.” 


20 


The Brownies’ Quest 

“And did you lay your eggs here 
in the hollow of the stump when there 
was water in it ? ” 

“Yes; we always lay our eggs in 
stagnant water.” 

“I should think they would sink 
into the water and be lost.” 

“Oh, no. We do not lay one little 
egg by itself; quite the contrary. We 
fasten all the eggs together with a 
sticky stuff that we have, and they float 
around on the water like a tiny boat, 
until they hatch out into larvae.” 

“Yes, yes,” said the Brownie quickly, 
“ I have heard of those things. So, you 
have larvae, too ? ” 

“Yes, those funny brown squirming 
things are the mosquito larvae. Hu¬ 
mans call them ‘wigglers.’” 


21 


The Hollow in the Stump 

“That is a good name for them,” 
said the Brownie, looking down at the 
water, “and if you should lay your 
eggs in the dry ground, I suppose these 
wigglers would die as soon as hatched.” 

“ That is exactly what would 
happen. They cannot live out of water, 
any more than can one of those things 
called fish; you have heard of them, I 
suppose ? ” 

“Oh, yes. But why don’t you put 
your eggs in running water ? ” 

“It would not be so warm. Be¬ 
sides, the eggs would not hatch, if car¬ 
ried along on a current.” 

“ Then, I suppose if you should lay 
some eggs late in the autumn, and the 
water should freeze, that would spoil 
the eggs ? ” 


22 


The Brownies’ Quest 

“No, indeed; they would be per¬ 
fectly safe in their frozen state, and 
they would hatch on the first warm 
spring day. You may always know, 
when you see or hear mosquitoes early 
in the spring, that they are from the 
eggs that were laid the autumn before.” 


CHAPTER II 


“ WIGGLERS ” AND “ TUMBLERS ” 

You may be sure the Brownie was 
all interest now. He had quite forgot¬ 
ten how dull he had thought the world. 

“How very strange!” he exclaimed 
when Madam Culex had finished telling 
him about spring mosquitoes. “ I have 
always supposed that freezing killed 
everything. I am very sure it would 
kill me, and I have heard that it kills 
humans. ” 

“Humans!” cried the mosquito 
scornfully, “it does not take much to 
kill one of them, I can tell you! Why, 
they are hurt as easily as can be. If 
one or two of my family get after them, 

23 


24 The Brownies' Quest 

they will do everything in their power 
to kill us, and half a dozen of us can 
drive them away from almost any 
place, no matter how fine a time they 
are otherwise having.” 

“That is strange, isn’t it?” said the 
Brownie, thoughtfully, “if I were as 
big as a human, I don’t believe I should 
mind a little creature like you.” 

“Well, they do mind us,” said the 
mosquito, buzzing proudly. “ They will 
run from us very quickly. Oh, it is 
such fun to see them scamper out of 
our way! Of course, they are always 
trying to kill us, but they have a hard 
time catching us. The male mosquito 
is not so quick as the female, but as he 
never makes any noise, and also never 
stings as the female does, he is not 
often killed.” 


25 


“Wrigglers” and “ Tumblers” 

“But, please tell me, Madam Culex, 
how long ago you laid your eggs in 
this stagnant water.” 

“That is a question that I cannot 
answer, for I do not know whether the 
wigglers or the other creatures that 
are swimming about are my offspring. 
You can see a difference in them, can 
you not ?” 

“ Why, yes. I thought those others 
were only bits of wood. What do you 
call them 1 ” 

“They are sometimes called 
‘tumblers,’ but they are the pupae of 
the mosquito.” 

“You are very wonderful creatures, 
certainly,” the Brownie observed, “but 
what makes the wigglers put their 
heads down under the water and their 
tails out of it ? ” 


26 


The Brownies’ Quest 


“The tubes with which they breathe 
are in their tails, so they put their tails 
out of the water to get the air.” 

“ Do they eat anything ? ” 

“Of course they do. Come close 
to the water’s edge. Now perhaps you 
can see their round, flat heads with the 
two brown eyes. Then, too, you can 
see the mouth with its tufts of hair on 
each side of it. Is all this plain to you?” 

“Quite so, now that you have told 
me it is there; but I must confess 
that I did not see it before.” 

“ So you see what it is to have good 
eyes. If you hadn’t any better ones 
than the poor, miserable humans have, 
you could not see all those things at 
all.” 

“ Dear me! you make me feel al¬ 
most glad that I am not a human.” 


27 


“ Wrigglers ” and “ Tumblers 

“But, now,” Madam Culex went on, 
“watch, the two tufts of hair. You will 
notice that they move quickly, and as 
they do so they cause small currents of 
water to flow into their mouths.” 

“Yes, but that is only water. They 
cannot live without food, can they ? ” 

“ Of course not. But there are 
tiny creatures in the water, and bits of 
plants, too small for even your eyes to 
discover, and all of these give them 
plenty of food. ” 

The Brownie stood for several min¬ 
utes watching the water, and suddenly 
he exclaimed: 

“Oh, look! what is happening to 
that wiggler ? ” He pointed to one that 
seemed to be turning itself wrong side 
out. 


28 


The Brownies’ Quest 

“He is changing his skin,” Madam 
Culex answered quietly, “just as you 
go to the Brownie factory and buy a 
new coat. The larvae could not be ex¬ 
pected to wear the same skin all the 
time; he outgrows the one he has, 
and so he throws it off and there is a 
nice new one underneath. ” 

“How often does he do that ?” 
“About once a week.” 

“That is a good deal oftener than I 
get a new coat. I think Mr. Wiggler 
is very extravagant about his clothes. ” 
“Ho matter,” said the old mosquito, 
“ since they neither make them nor buy 
them.” 

The Brownie now turned his atten¬ 
tion to the pupae and began to make 
remarks about them. 


“ Wrigglers ” and “ Tumblers ” 29 

“ Why, see it swim! ” he exclaimed, 
as one of the pupae, by bending its body 
and then straightening it again, moved 
itself through the water. “ But do tell 
me how the larvae got to this state, 
and how long they will stay so ? ” the 
Brownie begged. 

“ After the larva had changed its skin 
three times, the fourth change brought 
it to the pupa stage, and when it 
changes again, which will be in about 
a week from the time it became a pupa, 
it will come out a beautiful insect like 
myself.” Madam Culex hummed 
proudly. 

“I cannot see that any of the pupae 
are eating,” the Brownie said now. 

“No, they don’t eat in this stage; 
they just live and breathe and swim.” 


30 


The Brownies' Quest 

“What fun!” exclaimed the 
Brownie. “If I were a mosquito I 
should want to be a pupa always.” 

“ Indeed, you would not; you would 
be longing for something else all the 
while, just as you are now. You are 
not satisfied with talking to and under¬ 
standing the speech of every living 
creature, except the humans, but you 
want to understand them too, and 
should you be lucky enough to get that 
gift you would immediately wish for 
something more.” 

“There will be nothing left to long 
for, if that wish is granted,” said the 
Brownie. “But to come back to the 
poor pupa that doesn’t eat—what does 
he do with his stomach ? ” 

He has none yet; the stomach ana 


31 


“ Wrigglers ” and “ Tumblers ” 

all the other organs for the perfect 
mosquito are slowly growing while it is 
in this quiet state.” 

“ But what is that strange thing over 
there?” exclaimed the Brownie. “It 
looks like a pupa, but—oh, Madam 
Culex, what can be the matter ? The 
top of the skin is opening ! ” 

“Yes, yes! ” returned the mosquito, 
also growing much excited; “watch 
closely, now, it is coming out; there 
will soon be another mosquito.” 

“Oh,” cried the Brownie, jumping 
up and down in his delight, “Now I can 
see the body of the little creature is a 
different color from the outside shell.” 

“ Of course,” said Madam Culex, “ for 
it is casting off its old skin. It will not 
need it much longer. Now, watch; do 
you see its head coming out ? ” 


32 


The Brownies’ Quest 

“Yes, and what a wonderful thing 
to see! I don’t believe any other 
Brownie will find anything half so 
strange as this.” 

By this time the head and forepart 
of the pupa were well out of the case, 
and were held erect like the mast of a 
ship. 

“Now the poor little being has to 
move very carefully,” said Madam 
Culex, “because if it should happen to 
upset the skin, which looks just like a 
boat with a tall mast, it would be 
drowned in the water. For, you see, 
the tiny creature at this stage is 
neither a pupa, carefully enwrapped, 
nor a mosquito, with wings with which 
to fly.” 

“Yes, I see,” said the Brownie. “I 


“ Wrigglers ” and “ Tumblers ” 33 

have heard that it is not wise to try to 
be two things at once. There was a 
Brownie who wanted to be a fairy and 
a Brownie too, and when—” 

“Look, look,” Madam Culex in¬ 
terrupted. “Never mind your sermon. 
Watch this wonderful little creature. 
Do you see it is drawing the rest of its 
body slowly out of its shell ? See how 
careful it is not to upset its little boat. 
Now, wasn’t that pretty well done?’’ 
she exclaimed, as the young insect stood 
upright in the big end of the case or 
boat. 

“If a big breeze should blow against 
it now, it would fall over and be 
drowned,” the mosquito went on, “for, 
you see, it has not found either its 
wings or its legs yet.” 


34 


The Brownies’ Quest 

“But, look, Madam Culex!” cried 
the Brownie. “It has found its fore¬ 
legs; there they come,—yes, yes, and 
now there are the others,” he added. 

“Yes, poor little new mosquito,” 
said Madam Culex; “it will soon be 
safe from all danger.” 

They watched breathlessly while 
the new mosquito planted its fore-feet 
carefully on the water, then brought its 
other feet out of the case, and daintily 
balanced itself. 

“Its wings will dry off presently,” 
said Madam Culex, and almost as she 
spoke the new creature spread its 
beautiful gauzy wings, waved them a 
few times as though trying them, then 
soared above the water and was soon 
out of sight. The old mosquito 
hummed away to herself softly. 



The new mosquito planted its fore-feet carefully 
on the water 


















36 


The Brownies’ Quest 

“Another mosquito made happy,” 
she said after a while. 

“Yes, and a few more humans made 
unhappy,” said the Brownie. 

“They can stand it,” said the mos¬ 
quito sharply, “they don’t have any 
mercy on us, I tell you.” 

“How glad I shall be when I can be 
around among them and know just 
what they are saying!” 

“You will not be any happier; that 
is, if they say as mean things about you 
as they do about me.” 

“But I will not annoy them,” per¬ 
sisted the Brownie; “ you know I can¬ 
not sting.” 

“No, but you will find that there 
will be something about you that they 
do not like, they are so unreasonable. 


37 


“ Wrigglers ” and “ Tumblers ” 

They even object to my low singing, 
and I am sure there is no sound more 
beautiful.” 

“ Perhaps they would not mind 
your song if they did not know that 
you intend to get their blood.” 

“What is the use of their being so 
stingy with their blood ? Goodness 
knows they have more than they need. 
But you will find out what cruel crea¬ 
tures they are.” 

“But since they cannot see me or 
hear me, they cannot blame me even 
for the things that I do.” 

“But they will blame you for things 
you have never thought of doing. Take 
my advice and stay away from them; 
you don’t need them as I do, and as 
many others of the Diptera do.” 


38 


The Brownies’ Quest 


“And who are the Diptera?” asked 
the Brownie. 

“They are the great race to which 
I belong; the word means two-winged, 
and all the insects with two wings be¬ 
long to this race. There are many 
different families in it, and each family 
has ways and habits of its own. The 
common house fly belongs to the same 
family. As they love the society of 
the humans, you might learn a great 
deal by talking to one of them, they 
could tell you something about the 
cruelty of the human race. But, now, 
I must go. I am glad that we met, 
but, remember, my parting advise to 
you is, keep away from the humans. ” 

“ Well, ” said the Brownie, “ I can¬ 
not help feeling sorry for them, after 


39 


“higglers” and “Tumblers” 

all, when I remember what a hard time 
they will have when all the wigglers 
and tumblers in this water are changed 
into mosquitoes, so if I can help them 
I will.” 

The mosquito gave a happy buzz. 
“Much you can do!” she laughed. 
“Why, just think of it, every female in 
that pool of water will lay about four 
hundred eggs, and in three weeks’ time 
the eggs will all be hatched out and that 
many more mosquitoes ready to lay 
more eggs. I am afraid you will be 
rather busy, looking after the poor hu¬ 
mans ! ” 

And singing her merry song, away 
she went, leaving the Brownie alone 
beside the pool of water. He looked 
after her a moment and then exclaimed: 


40 


The Brownies' Quest 

“But I know what I can do. I 
snail get the rest of the Brownies to 
help me, and we can throw away all 
the stagnant water. Then, I should like 
to know where the mosquitoes will be! ” 


CHAPTER III 


MADAM PAPILIO 

The Brownie jumped off the stump, 
intending to hunt up his friends at once 
and carry out his plans. He ran on a 
long way, until he came out of the 
woods, without seeing a single Brownie. 
Suddenly, he remembered that they 
were all far off looking for strange and 
curious things. He threw himself down 
on a piece of velvety grass and said 
aloud: 

“It’s no use. I couldn’t get one of 
them to help me to-day. It is a pretty 
big task to dip up and pour away all 
the stagnant water; I could never, 
never do it alone. I shall just have to 


41 


42 


The Brownies’ Quest 
wait, I suppose. How I do wish I were 
not so small!” 

At this moment a huge butterfly 
with bright spots on its wings alighted 
on a showy blosson near him. 

“How do you do Madam Butterfly,” 
he exclaimed. “I am so glad to see 
you! ” 

“But I heard you wishing you were 
not so small, and I am sure I cannot 
make you any larger. What a discon¬ 
tented creature you must be. How, I 
never wish to be anything except what 
I am.” 

“How happy you must be!” 

“So I am, and there is no reason 
why you should not be just as happy.” 

“But wait till you hear my 
troubles ” said the Brownie. He then 


Madam ‘Papilio 43 

told about the king’s promise, and 
about his own wish to help the humans, 
and the impossibility of carrying out 
his kind plans. 

“I thought the king’s promise was 
so grand, but, now, it is the very thing 
that keeps me from carrying out my 
plans,” he said mournfully. 

“See here, little fellow,” the butter¬ 
fly said kindly, “you must learn to do 
the things that you can do. If you can¬ 
not find the Brownies to-day, you can 
hunt up curious things just as you have 
been doing, then get your Brownies 
together to-morrow and go to work 
on the stagnant water.” 

“Well, I declare, Madam Butterfly,” 
exclaimed the Brownie joyfully, “that 
is good advice. You are almost as 
wise as the ant.” 


44 


The Brownies' Quest 

“Thank you,” the butterfly said, 
“but I wish you would call me by my 
right name, Madam Papilio.” 

“‘Madam Papilio’! Is that your 
name ? Why, I am sure I have heard 
a very different name for the butterflies; 
something about ‘Lepi,’ if I remember 
correctly.” 

“Yes,” replied the butterfly, slowly 
opening and shutting her wings, “you 
have the first part correct. We are 
called Lepidoptera, but that is only our 
race name. There are many different 
families of us, more than I could possi¬ 
bly name. My family name is Papilio, 
or the swallow-tailed butterfly.” 

“Well, I must say you are very 
handsome.” 

“Yes, our family is one of the most 
beautiful of all the Lepidoptera.” 


Madam Papilio 45 

“I never happened to see one just 
like you before. In fact, I have always 
seen the members of your family at 
night, when your beautiful colors did 
not show so plainly.” 

“ Oh, but you are wrong there, my 
wise Brownie. You nave never seen 
one of the Papilio family at night. You 
are thinking of our first cousins, the 
moths. They fly at night, and should 
you happen to see one of them in 
the daytime, he would be settled quietly 
somewhere, with his wings folded down 
flat. They cannot hold their wings up 
as I am holding mine.” 

“Oh, is that the only difference be¬ 
tween you? I suppose as the moth 
flies at night they are not so handsome 
as the butterflies.” 




46 


The ‘Brownies’ Quest 

“On the contrary, there are some 
beautiful moths, although they are not 
so generally showy as the butterflies.” 

“Are there any other differences 
between you?” 

“Yes, their antennae are shaped 
very differently from those of the but¬ 
terfly.” 

“Well, I must confess, I should like 
to have my clothes painted as brightly 
as yours.” 

“It is not paint at all that makes my 
clothes so beautiful. The coloring that 
you admire so much is caused by the 
tiniest scales of different forms over¬ 
lapping one another. I was told once 
by a wise old owl, though I am sure I 
don’t know how she found it out, that 
we are called Lepidoptera because that 


Madam Papilio 47 

means a scale and a wing. Sometimes, 
yon know, those wicked things called 
boys, catch us, and when they have 
touched us with their great clumsy 
fingers the scales or colors rub off and 
our beauty is gone.” 

“I have heard,” said the Brownie 
slowly, “that boys are very troublesome 
creatures. I have seen a few at a dis¬ 
tance, but have never been very near 
one.” 

“ Take my advice and don’t get near 
one. The more you know of them, the 
less you will like them.” 

“I have heard a good deal of that 
sort of talk to-day, but, after all, if I 
get this prize for which I am trying I 
shall probably see a good deal of boys.” 

“See to it, then,” said the butterfly 
fluttering her wings angrily, “that®they 


48 The Brownies’ Quest 

don’t get their hands on you. If they 
do, it will be all over with you in a 
second. They catch the members of 
my race and put some sort of stuff on 
them that ends their lives in the whisk 
of a wing.” 

“ But you must remember that they 
cannot catch me, for they cannot see 
me,” persisted the Brownie. 

“The trouble is, you never can tell 
what humans will do, they are so big 
and strong and know so much. Some 
day they will make something that they 
will throw over you and make you just 
as plain to their eyes as they are to 
yours. * Then it will go hard with you. 
Oh, they are good things to keep away 
from, for they seem to think that^the 
lives of little creatures like us are worth 


Madam Papilio 49 

nothing. It is true a butterfly’s life is 
short, but it is none the less sweet and 
precious.” 

“Well, my life is long, but I should 
be willing to shorten it a good deal for 
the sake of owning your beautiful 
wings. I suppose I could not make a 
trade of any kind with you ? ” asked 
the Brownie, as he looked with shining 
eyes at the butterfly. 

“ I could not trade with you. I did 
not plan my wings, you see. When I 
came out of my pupa stage I found 
them on me, and they were soon ready 
for use.” 

“Dear me! were you, also, a pupa 
asked the Brownie eagerly. 

“Yes, indeed, and a caterpillar be¬ 
fore that.” 


50 


The Brownies’ Quest 

“ Is it possible! I know what cater¬ 
pillars are; they are those big yellow, 
hairy things that go jerking along on 
six legs.” 

“Well, I suppose I did jerk along 
on six legs, but I was neither hairy nor 
yellow. I was smooth and of a beauti¬ 
ful light green color.” 

“Then I suppose caterpillars are the 
larvae of the butterflies.” 

“ Exactly.” 

“And you must have been very 
handsome, even as a caterpillar.” 

“Yes, I suppose I was,” said the 
butterfly, “but as a caterpillar I was 
exposed to constant danger. How, 
having these helpful wings, I can take 
pretty good care of myself.” 

“It is true you have wings, but birds 
have them also, and as they are so much 


Madam Papilio 51 

larger and stronger than you, I should 
not suppose your life could be any safer 
now than it was before. As a cater¬ 
pillar you could hide under leaves and 
things, but, now, you are always flying 
about where the whole world can see 
you.” 

“Yes, but caterpillars have foes that 
find them no matter where they hide. 
Have you ever heard of the ichneumon 
wasp ? ” 

“No, I never have.” 

“Well, it is a small insect that hunts 
out the caterpillars of my family, and 
lays an egg in the body of each. The 
egg hatches and the insect lives on the 
caterpillar without in any way keeping 
back the caterpillar’s growth, although 
I dare say it makes the poor creature 


52 The ‘Brownies’ Quest 

uncomfortable. When the caterpillar 
goes into the cocoon the little thief goes 
too. In a short while it eats up the 
poor thing that is waiting to be changed 
into a butterfly, and in due course of 
time, instead of a beautiful butterfly 
coming out of the cocoon, out comes 
the full-grown ichneumon wasp.” 

The Brownie shivered as he said: 
“Dear me, I don’t believe I should 
like to be a Papilio butterfly after 
all.” 

“I suppose I ought to tell you that 
it is only on the family known as the 
Asterias that this mischievous wasp 
preys. I belong to that branch of the 
Papilio, but you see I had the good 
luck, when in my caterpillar form, not 
to be discovered by a female ichneu- 


Madam Papilio 53 

mon wasp, when she was looking for a 
place to lay an egg.” 

“And now that you have lived 
through all these dangers, I hope 
no bird will catch you and eat you.” 

“Have you ever watched a bird try¬ 
ing to catch a butterfly ? ” 

“ I cannot say that I have. I didn’t 
suppose there was much ‘trying’ 
about it. I thought the bird just 
swooped down on the butterfly, when 
he got his eye on one, and gobbled it 
up.” 

“After this, my dear little fellow, 
just keep your eyes open, and see how 
a butterfly can get away from a bird 
by the cunning use of its wings. You 
will find that size does not always 
count. But now, I must leave you; 


54 The ‘Brownies' Quest 

my life is too short to be spent in idle 
chat.” 

“Why, have you really anything to 
do ? I supposed you just lived to eat 
honey and delight the eyes of the hu¬ 
mans.” 

“Quite the contrary, I assure you. 
Like every other living thing, I was 
created for a purpose.” 

“But why go away? This is a pleas¬ 
ant spot, and if you have any particular 
work to do, why not do it here ?” 

“That is impossible. My work is 
to lay eggs, and they must be laid on 
the sort of plant that my larvae will 
eat when they come to life. There are 
none of these plants right around here, 
so I must go where I can find some 
celery, carrot, parsnip, coriander, fen- 


Madam Papilio 55 

nel, parsley, or something of that kind. 
Should 1 lay my eggs on the leaves of 
this pretty plant, the larvae could not 
eat it and would starve.” 


CHAPTER IV 


A PARTING 

Still the Brownie tried to keep the 
butterfly to stay with him, for he found 
her as interesting to talk to as Miss 
Formica had been. When she insisted 
that she must go, he said: 

“But why can you not fly back to 
me when you have laid your eggs ? I 
do not like to part with you.” 

“I shall not live long after I have 
laid my eggs, so you may as well make 
up your mind that you will never see 
me again.” 

“ But does it not make you sad to 
think that your happy life is so near 
its end?” 


56 


A Tarting 57 

“No, indeed; why should it? 
Everything is born to die, and who 
knows that there is not another life in 
store for me, somewhere? But even if 
there is not, I shall have done my duty 
in this life, when I have laid my eggs 
in the proper place.” 

“How many eggs will you lay?” 

“Perhaps two hundred, perhaps 
less” 

“How fine it is that your larvae, as 
soon as they are hatched, are ready to 
take care of themselves!” 

“Yes, we Lepidoptera are a very 
independent race. As caterpillars we 
eat as soon as we are born, and, except 
at certain times, we eat as long as we 
are^ caterpillars. I have heard of a 
certain kind of caterpillar that is a 


58 


The "Brownies’ Quest 

great eater. It is called the silkworm. 
It is of the moth family, and its right 
name is Bombyx. It will eat in one 
day, it is said, its weight in mulberry 
leaves. There is also a caterpillar that 
lives on cabbage, which will eat in one 
day twice its own weight.” 

“It is a good thing that humans and 
cows and horses do not do that, is it 
not ? ” said the Brownie with a laugh. 

“ So it is. I do not believe the world 
could stand it if big things like those 
ate as heartily as caterpillars do.” 

“But I remember you said that 
there are times when caterpillars do 
not eat. Please tell me something 
about those times.” 

“It is when they are about to change 
their skins.” 


59 


A "Parting 

“Dear me! do they have to do that 
too, poor things V’ 

“You may well say ‘poor things,’ 
for, although the task is over in less 
than a minute it is by no means an easy 
one. For a day or two before the 
change takes place, the poor caterpillar 
fasts. It lies quiet, while the skin that 
is to come off grows dark and dry. By 
and by the skin splits on the back and 
then the little creature works away 
until he has cast off the old skin com¬ 
pletely, and comes out in a new, bright 
dress. Sometimes these changes are 
made many times before the caterpillar 
is ready to enter the chrysalis.” 

“Do tell me something about this 
change.” 

“Each family forms its chrysalis in 


60 


The Brownies’ Quest 

its own way, but all families are alike in 
one thing, they cease to eat when ready 
for this great change. They all, also, 
fasten themselves to something, and 
then, inside the chrysalis, wait for their 
slow and final transformation into the 
winged creature. The caterpillar of 
the Bombyx family, of which I told you 
a few moments ago, winds a fine cocoon 
of silk about itself.” 

“Yes, yes,” said the Brownie quick¬ 
ly; “I have heard about this little fel¬ 
low before you spoke of him a moment 
ago. They use his cocoon to make 
silk for the humans, do they not ? ” 

“Yes, there is a country on the 
other side of the world called China, I 
believe, where the usefulness of these 
worms was first discovered. There the 


A Tarting 61 

humans made a law that any one who 
carried the worms out of the country 
should die. But a long time afterward, 
some wily monks — whatever monks 
maybe!—from a city called Constanti¬ 
nople visited this land of China and 
managed to get some of the eggs. 

“The monks hid the eggs in their 
walking sticks. They had learned, 
during their stay in China, all about 
the care of the worms, and, as they ar¬ 
rived safely in their own country, they 
soon began to make silk there, and 
from this point the raising of the silk¬ 
worms spread over the world. 

“I have also heard,” Madam Papilio 
went on, “ that the moth of this worm 
is not like the rest of the Lepidoptera: 
it does not fly like those of other fami- 


62 The ‘Brownies' Quest 

lies; it has been shut up so long with 
the humans that it has almost lost the 
use of its wings.” 

“ What a pity! But I am surprised 
to find that a butterfly has so much 
knowledge. You seem to know al¬ 
most as much as a human. You un¬ 
derstand their talk, I suppose.” 

“Yes, and I have learned a great 
deal from them; but have you ever 
heard of something called the book of 
Nature ?” 

“Miss Formica was telling me to¬ 
day about a thing called a book, which 
is carried around by the humans.” 

“That sort of a book,” said the but¬ 
terfly, fluttering her wings, “is not 
worth speaking of; it is a thing that 
those foolish humans make up in some 


63 


A Tarting 

way. But the book of Nature is a 
very different affair. When I was a 
caterpillar and crawled around on the 
ground, the leaves and grasses told me 
wonderful stories.” 

“Was that where you heard about 
the silkworms?” 

“The mulberry tree told me some 
of it. It said it's leaves were taken off 
every year to feed those dreadful 
worms, and here is a funny little story 
I heard one day: One of the leaves 
fell off the rack where it had been put 
for the worms to eat. A man picked 
it up, and instead of putting it back 
again, he carried it out of doors and 
threw it on the ground. The wind 
took it up and bore it back under the 
tree from which it had been plucked. 


64 The “Brownies’ Quest 

It told the old tree how glad it was to 
get away from that terrible place. It 
said that when the worms were all eat¬ 
ing, the noise they made sounded like 
a heavy shower of rain. Of course, the 
poor leaf had to die, after all, but it 
was glad to die there near its old home, 
instead of being eaten up by a great 
white worm.” 

“I should think so,” exclaimed the 
Brownie, giving himself a little shake, 
“ sometimes I feel so discontented be¬ 
cause I am nothing but a Brownie, 
when there are so many other things 
that I would rather be, but after all I 
suppose I might be worse off.” 

“Indeed you might. I am glad to 
say that I am quite content to be what 
the dear Father of all made me. I get 


65 


A "Parting 

all the good I can out of the life that 
he fitted me for. By the way, have 
you ever heard Jack in the pulpit 
preach ? ” 

“Well, no,” answered the Brownie 
with some hesitation, “I cannot say 
that I have. I have often seen him, of 
course, but I have never stayed around 
him long enough to hear him say any¬ 
thing.” 

“Well, take my advice, and the next 
time you come across him, sit right 
down and listen to him. He will tell 
you all about Hod, his goodness and his 
love, and that the only thing to live for 
is to do his will.” 

“I never supposed,” said the 
Brownie, rising and looking more 
carefully at the butterfly, “ that 


66 The Brownies' Quest 

one of your kind had so many serious 
thoughts.” 

“I suppose not. Humans say, ‘as 
careless as a butterfly,’ but we are not 
so careless as we seem. Besides, they 
forget that there is a family of the 
Lepidoptera called Psyche. This 
word means a soul, and if one of us is 
like a soul, why may we not all have 
moments when we are soul-like ? 
But now I really must be going; I 
have been with you a long time,” and 
she spread her beautiful wings. 

“Oh, not yet, please don’t go yet!” 
the Brownie cried, throwing out his 
tiny hands as though to catch the 
butterfly. 

“Don’t touch me, don’t dare to 
touch me!” exclaimed the butterfly 


67 


A Parting 

angrily. “ Why, you are almost as bad 
as a boy ! If you touch me I shall 
leave you instantly.” 

“Oh, I won’t touch you, since you 
object to it so much,” said the Brownie. 
“I only-” 

“Object to being touched!” inter¬ 
rupted the butterfly, as she excitedly 
fluttered her wings, “ Indeed I do 
object to it. To be touched by any¬ 
thing but one of my own race is agony 
to me; and yet a boy, and I am sorry 
to say sometimes a girl, will chase one 
of us for the mere pleasure of holding 
it for a few minutes. How I wish hu¬ 
mans could be made to understand 
what it means to us!” 

“But, I have one more question to 
ask you before you go,” said the 



68 The Brownies’ Quest 

Brownie, “How long before the pupa 
becomes the butterfly ? ” 

“Well, now, my dear little fellow, 
you have asked a question that I cannot 
answer. Each family has ways of its 
own. Besides, so much depends on the 
weather. I have heard about a human 
who was so much interested in studying 
the Lepidoptera, that he put some co¬ 
coons in a hot-house, and in the middle 
of winter brought out beautiful butter¬ 
flies which, if left to themselves, would 
not have appeared until the middle of 
May. Then in the spring he put some 
cocoons in an ice-box, and so kept the 
poor things from hatching for a long 
time.” 

“ Well, I declare, they play all sorts 
of pranks with you, do they not ? How 


69 


A Parting 

glad I am that they cannot see me! I 
can do what I like to them, but they 
don’t even know what it is that is 
bothering them.” 

“Don’t brag,don’t brag. You may 
depend upon it they will get you some 
day. They have learned how to in¬ 
crease the power of their eyes, and one 
of these days they will get them so 
strong that they will be able to see 
even you. 

“ But I have always been . pretty 
good to the humans; I never do any¬ 
thing worse than play funny tricks on 
them. So perhaps they won’t hurt me 
very much.” 

“Do not depend too much on that,” 
said the butterfly. 

“ But please tell me one thing more; 


70 The Brownies’ Quest 

is it hard for the pupa to leave its 
shell?” 

“No, that is one of the pleasures of 
the Lepidoptera’s life. It comes out 
of its case easily and quickly, and 
stands forth a beautiful, bright-winged 
creature of the air. At first the wings 
are weak and small, but they very 
quickly grow stronger and larger.” 

“It seems to me I have heard some¬ 
thing of your race going into the 
ground during the pupa stage.” 

“Yes, there is a family of moths 
called the Sphinxes or hawk-moths, 
or the humming-bird hawk-moths. 
The larvae of these moths go into the 
ground in the autumn and come out in 
May or June. They are very beauti¬ 
ful, and may often be seen at twilight, 


A "Parting 71 

hovering over the flowers, when they 
might easily be taken for humming¬ 
birds. But now you must really let 
me say good-by. I think I have told 
you everything that I know about my¬ 
self and my family, but if you will keep 
your eyes and ears open and watch 
caterpillars, moths and butterflies for 
the rest of the summer, you will learn 
much more, I am sure, than will come 
to you if you stay near the humans 
and listen to their talk, which is often 
mere idle chatter.” 

“Well, I shall surely watch these 
wonderful Lepidoptera, as you suggest, 
but at the same time I know I shall 
never be quite happy until I can un¬ 
derstand what the humans are saying 
to one another.” 


72 


The ‘Brownies’ Quest 

“Very well, think so if you please, 
but when you are disappointed, remem¬ 
ber me.” 

“That I will, Madam Papilio, and 
now good-by. You have given me 
much pleasure, and I hope not only 
that you will find a good place in which 
to lay your eggs, but also that every 
one of them will hatch into a beautiful 
green caterpillar and that the ichneu¬ 
mon wasp will not find a single one of 
them.” 

“ That is the best that you can wish 
me,” said the butterfly, and the next 
moment it soared into the air and went 
swiftly over the green meadow. 


CHAPTER V 

CRICKETS AND GRASSHOPPERS 

The Brownie was very thoughtful 
after the butterfly left him. 

“I am beginning to wonder,” he 
said to himself, “whether or not I 
want that prize, after all. Then, there 
was my other wish, to pour out all the 
stagnant water so that the poor hu¬ 
mans might not be plagued any more 
by the mosquitoes. But what if the 
humans are as bad and cruel as they 
are said to be ? Ought I to help them 
or should these things be allowed to 
annoy them ? That is a good way to 
punish them, I suppose. But then, we 
Brownies are pledged to do all the 

73 


74 The Brownies’ Quest 

good we can, and I don’t know that it 
is our business to ask whether people 
deserve help or not.” 

Just at this moment he heard steps 
behind him, and, turning around, he 
saw another Brownie coming out of the 
world. 

“What a dull place the world is in 
the daytime,” said the Brownie, “I did 
not suppose the sunshine could make 
so much difference.” 

“Dull?”repeated the first Brownie, 
“how can you say such a thing ? I have 
found so much that is new and interest¬ 
ing that I fear it will take me until 
morning to tell what I have seen 
already, and there are several hours of 
the day still left.” 


Crickets and Grasshoppers 75 

“Where in the world did you find 
your interesting things?” his friend 
asked peevishly. “There weren’t any 
where I have been, and now I am 
going off to some quiet place to have 
a good nap. It isn’t fair, anyway, to 
make us keep our eyes and ears open 
all day long, when we are expected to 
be wide awake and busy all night too.” 

“But think of the prize we are try¬ 
ing to win! Surely that is worth some 
effort.” 

“Do you think so? I don’t. It is 
not so wonderful, I am sure, to be able 
to hear a lot of silly humans talk.” 

“ They are not silly,” the first Brownie 
cried. “You don’t know what you are 
talking about. They are very wise.” 

“Well, think so if you want to,” 


76 The "Brownies’ Quest 

said the second Brownie, “but I have 
heard of a great many things that they 
cannot do.” 

“That is very likely, for I suppose 
there is no creature that can do every¬ 
thing. I know that there are many, 
many things they can do. I should be 
proud to be like a human.” 

“That is where you are not like me. 
Why, I have heard our king say that 
they forget things, think of it! ” 

“Forget? What in the world is that ? 
I have never heard of such a thing. Is 
it some new way they fix things to eat?” 

“No, indeed,” answered the second 
Brownie, “it’s—it’s—well, I am not 
sure that I can make you understand. 
You said you had so many things to 
tell the king; now just suppose that 



“Ho! Ho!” laughed the first Brownie till his fat 

sides shook 


77 












































































































































































78 The Brownies Quest 

when you stood up to tell him about 
them they should all pass right out of 
your mind—that is forgetting.” 

“Ho, ho!” laughed the first Brownie 
till his fat sides shook, “who ever heard 
of anything so silly? Why, that 
couldn’t be. If a thing is once in your 
mind it must stay there; how could it 
ever get out? You must know that 
is impossible.” 

“Of course it is impossible to a 
Brownie mind, but it is not to a human 
one, you see. That is where the dif¬ 
ference is, and that is just why I should 
not care to be a human.” 

“But how can they be so clever, 
and know so many things, if all the 
time they are doing this forgetting that 
you tell about?” 


Crickets and Grasshoppers 79 

“I am sure I don’t know,” said the 
second Brownie, “but I have told you 
the truth about them. That is the 
way they are made. So, now, go on 
and be one if you want to.” 

“I don’t want to be one,” said the 
first Brownie crossly, “I want to under¬ 
stand them, and I should not mind be¬ 
ing like them in some things, that is all. 
But I could not be one if I wanted to 
be, and would not if I could.” 

“ Well,” retorted the second Brownie, 
11 1 don’t even want to understand them 
or be like them, so I am going back into 
the woods, to have a good, long nap, 
while you prowl around and try to find 
something worth looking at,” and off 
he ran as fast as his legs could carry 
him. 


80 


The Brownies' Quest 

“ There,” said the first Brownie aloud, 
“how foolish I have been! I have stood 
here quarreling with the Brownie about 
the humans, instead of asking him to 
help me pour out all the stagnant water 
and so rid the world of mosquitoes. 
But, then, I dare say he would have 
refused. Well, I will wait until to¬ 
night, and bring it up at the council.” 

Just at this moment he heard a 
sound near him that made him jump 
for joy. 

“Oh,” he called aloud, “where are 
you, Mr. Cricket? I hear your merry 
zid, zid, zidder, zee, but I don’t see 
you anywhere. Come, hop out here 
where I can get my eye on you. I 
shall be so glad to talk with you and 
learn something.” 


Crickets and Grasshoppers 81 

In another moment a small black 
creature hopped out of a hole near the 
roots of an oak tree. 

“How are you, my good little 
Brownie ? ” it asked. “ I should not have 
come out of my hole for anyone but 
you. You know I am, like you, a child 
of the night. When I saw you I was 
so surprised that I began to chirp in 
spite of myself. But what are you do¬ 
ing here in broad daylight 

“Just strolling around and finding 
out how the world looks with the sun 
shining on it. I am so glad you were 
surprised into chirping, for I do want 
to talk with you, more than I can tell. 
What a cosy little house you have 
here,” continued the Brownie coming 
close to the opening and peeping in. 



“ What a cozy little house you have here ” 


82 




































































Crickets and Grasshoppers 83 

“ So I have, a very fine house, indeed, 
I think, and I must be going into it, too. 
I don’t like the sunlight, Mr. Brownie.” 

“But, wait, wait, Mr. Cricket,” ex¬ 
claimed the Brownie, “do stay here 
and talk to me; if you run away I shall 
be all alone ? ” 

“No, I must go in; and, while I 
think of it, I wish you would call me 
by my right name,” said the cricket, 
and as he said that he backed into the 
house quickly and was lost to view. 

“Oh, dear,” wailed the Brownie, 
“now I have lost him. What shall I 
do to bring him back?” 

Then a bright thought came to him. 
“I know how to manage him.” He 
went close to the cricket’s house and 
called very coaxingly: 


84 


The "Brownies’ Quest 

“What is your right name, Mr. 
Cricket ? I have never heard you called 
by any name but Cricket, but if you 
will tell it to me I will gladly use it.” 

Then the cricket stuck his antennae 
clear out of the hole and said in a 
friendly tone: 

“My race name is Orthoptera and 
my family name is Gryllus. I suppose 
you have never heard either of them 
before ? ” 

“No, never, they are rather hard 
names to say, too. Would you mind 
telling me just what they mean ? ” 

“Certainly not. Orthoptera means 
straight winged, and Gryllus means 
belonging to the ground, because, as 
you know, I neither fly nor climb.” 

“Yes, that is true, but I know you 
are a good hopper.” 


Crickets and Grasshoppers 85 

At this piece of flattery the cricket 
came out of his hole and gave a pro¬ 
digious jump that carried him out of 
the Brownie’s sight. 

“Do come back, Mr. Gryllus,” called 
the Brownie. “ Show me more of your 
hopping, but turn your head this way 
before you begin.” 

At this the cricket bounced down 
in front of the Brownie, who said: 

“Now, give me some of your music; 
you know I am very fond of it.” 

“No person of taste,” said the 
cricket proudly, “can help being fond 
of it. I have heard that in a far-off 
country called Africa the people catch 
us and put us into little cages so that 
they can have us with them and hear 
our music all the time.” 


86 


The Brownies’ Quest 

“That would be fine. I should like 
that myself.” 

“Do you mean you would like it if 
you were a cricket ? ” 

“Well, no, hardly,” said the Brownie 
doubtfully. “I mean I should like to 
have a cricket near me all the time in 
a little cage.” 

“But you shan’t have me,” said the 
cricket, running toward its hole. 

“Come, don’t be afraid,” coaxed the 
Brownie, “I won’t catch you. Besides, 
I have no cage, so I should not know 
what to do with you if I should catch 
you. So chirp away for me, and 
have no fear.” 

“I am glad you like to hear me 
chirp. Some humans do, too, and some 
do not. Some declare I bring good 


Crickets and Grasshoppers 87 

luck, and others, when they hear one 
of us chirping, hunt it out and kill it, 
because they believe it will bring bad 
luck.” 

“And which story is true ?” 

“Neither. How could a little 
creature like me know what is about to 
happen to a human ? ” 

“You couldn’t, of course, but I think 
you would bring good luck in this way: 
your cheerful song should make every 
one that hears it happier, and that 
would be good luck, surely.” 

“Yes, but what foolishness to think 
that we can bring bad luck. But, then, 
humans are foolish creatures, anyway.” 

“Are they really?” asked the 
Brownie in a sad tone. “I have heard 
all kinds of things about them. Some- 


88 


The ‘Brownies' Quest 

times I hear how clever they are, then, 
how silly they are. I do wonder which 
is true.” 

“I think the truth is that they are 
a great deal of both. Sometimes they 
seem wonderful in their wisdom, and 
again shocking in their foolishness.” 

“But they are certainly very foolish 
in being afraid of a cricket’s song.” 

“But I must tell you, my friend, 
that you are wrong in calling my 
chirping a song. Don’t you know that 
we don’t make our chirping with our 
throats, as birds and humans make their 
songs ?” 

“Well, what do you call it then, and 
how do you make the sound, and what 
do you do it for ? ” 

“Dear me, so many questions at 


Crickets and Grasshoppers 89 

once! Well, let me see. First, the 
noise we make is a chirp or a call. 
You must remember that no insects 
have voices, their only way of making 
sounds is with the thin wings, or with 
the wings and legs. My call is made 
by rubbing the thighs over the hard 
ridges of the wings. 

“You ask why we “chirp,” the 
cricket went on. “The male crickets 
make the sound because we are lonely. 
It is a call for the female. She cannot 
make the sound herself, but will come 
to the male when she hears it.” 

“And do you, like so many other 
little creatures that I have met, go 
through many changes before you be¬ 
come perfect insects ? ” 

“ I don’t know what you mean by 


90 The Brownies’ Quest 

changes. The only change I know any¬ 
thing about is when I run out of my 
hole for something to eat.” 

“What do you eat?” 

“Herbs of all kinds, and very small 
insects.” 

“But do you live here alone?” 

“Yes, we crickets are not sociable, 
we do not travel in great armies, like 
our first cousins the grasshoppers.” 

“ Where does your female lay her 
eggs?” 

“Safe in the ground. She will lay 
from fifty to one hundred. When the 
young crickets are hatched they are 
just like ourselves, except that they 
have no wings. They live in the 
ground, or burrow under stones and 
sticks during the summer, and come 


Crickets and Grasshoppers 91 

out in the autumn the full-fledged 
cricket with wings.” 

“ I suppose there are several kinds 
of crickets ? ” the Brownie observed. 

“Yes, there are the wood cricket, 
the house cricket, the field cricket, to 
which family I belong, and the tree 
cricket, that lives in trees and is 
much smaller than the rest of us. 
There is another kind, that is not found 
about here, called the mole-cricket. 
The front legs of this cricket are made 
for digging, and it is said that they do 
much harm to all sorts of growing 
things, but of course I don’t know 
much about that, never having seen one 
myself. 

“I have also heard,” Mr. Gryllus 
went on, “that the females of this kind 


92 The Brownies’ Quest 

watch over and feed their larvae, which 
seems to me a very troublesome, as 
well as useless thing to do. The 
larvae of our family manage to care for 
themselves, and I dare say the others 
could if they had to. But, now, Mr. 
Brownie, I hope you will not try to 
keep me here any longer, I am sure I 
have told you all I know about the 
family of Gryllus. I see my first 
cousin the grasshopper is hopping along 
this way. Perhaps he will talk to you; 
he is a more sociable fellow than I am,” 
and without another word the cricket 
backed into his nest, and the Brownie 
saw him no more. 

But by this time the grasshopper 
was within speaking distance and be¬ 
fore the Brownie had uttered a word, 
it called out to him: 


Crickets and Grasshoppers 93 

“ Good-day, Mr. Brownie. Have 
you been talking to that quarrelsome 
cricket ? ” 

“ Quarrelsome,” exclaimed the 
Brownie, “why, how can he be that, 
when he lives here all alone and 
troubles no one ? ” 

“That is just the reason he lives all 
alone, because he cannot live in peace 
with any one. If you don’t believe he 
is quarrelsome, just get another cricket 
to go near his nest and see what 
happens. I tell you, crickets fight and 
kill each other just like humans.” 

“How is it with you grasshoppers ? 
Do you fight too?” 

“No, indeed. If we did, living to¬ 
gether as we do in great numbers, we 
should be wiped off the earth in a 
short time.” 


94 


The Brownies' Quest 

“ There don’t seem to be very many 
of you about here, any way.” 

“That is simply because there are a 
large lake and a river just beyond this 
meadow and all this water brings many 
lizards, snakes and toads, and they are 
all enemies to our race. So many of us 
have been destroyed this summer that 
the few of us that are left are preparing 
to march to some other part of the 
world. 

“Then, too,” he went on, “we want 
to get where there are no birds. You 
know there are some foolish humans 
who destroy the birds. If we can find 
a place where such people live, we can 
have a merry time. We will eat up 
everything green that we can find, and 
chirp our days away in happiness. You 


Crickets and Grasshoppers 95 

see, both our males and females know 
how to fiddle, and in this way we can 
have a fine chorus.” 

“But that is a poor return to make 
the humans, after they have killed off 
your enemies the birds—to eat up the 
stuff that they are raising for food.” 

“Much we care for the humans! 
They must look out for themselves, 
just as we have to. If they are not 
clever enough to see what they are do¬ 
ing for us, when they kill the birds, we 
cannot help it. We could not tell 
them if we would, and we would not 
if we could. But, now, good-by, Mr. 
Brownie; there come the rest of my 
company, and I don’t want to be left 
behind.” 

With a chirp and a hop he was 


96 


The “Brownies' Quest 

gone, and the Brownie stood for a few 
moments gazing after the noisy com¬ 
pany, as they made their way across 
the meadow. 

“They are going in the opposite 
direction from the water,” said the 
Brownie to himself. “How I wish I 
had some way of telling the humans 
that the grasshoppers are coming, and 
that they would better hunt up a lot 
of birds to welcome them and eat 
them up.” 

The sun was now setting, and the 
Brownie was tired. He had seen and 
heard a great deal, and had also asked 
many questions, all of which were un¬ 
usual things for him to do, so now he 
decided that he would lie down under 
a big plantain leaf that grew near by, 
and have a short nap. 


Crickets and Grasshoppers 97 

“I shall be sure to awaken before 
dark,” he said to himself, “and then I 
can get to court in time to tell my 
story.” 

But the poor little fellow was so 
tired that his sleep was long and 
sound, and when he awoke the moon 
was riding high in the sky. 

Now, the moon, when it shone, was 
the Brownie’s clock, and he knew in a 
moment that he had slept until long 
past midnight. This would have filled 
his heart with despair had it not been 
for one wise law of the Brownie world, 
which is that after midnight a Brownie 
may wish himself in any place that is 
not across the water. So, as the court 
was not across any water, he made the 
wish and appeared among the Brownies 


98 The ‘Brownies’ Quest 

just as the last little fellow had finished 
his story. 

How glad he was to be just in time 
—not a minute to wait or a minute 
too late! He stepped into the center 
of the magic ring and began his won¬ 
derful story. 

He had so much to tell that it took 
him until nearly daybreak to speak of 
everything, and as his story was more 
than ten times as long and as interest¬ 
ing as any of the others, he was given 
the prize as soon as he had finished. 

How proud he was! “Now,” he said, 
“I shall soon be very wise.” 

The next night he called all the 
Brownies together and told them about 
the stagnant water and all the trouble 
and suffering that it caused the poor 



He stepped into the center of the magic ring and 

began his story 


99 
























































100 The “Brownies’ Quest 

humans by breeding the dreadful 
mosquitoes. As the Brownies live only 
to do good, they gladly set about the 
work and it did not take them long, 
you may be sure, to finish it. 

But, now, what sorely grieves our 
poor little Brownie’s heart is, that, he 
hears the humans talk about the dis¬ 
appearance of the stagnant water, and 
they take all the credit for it to them¬ 
selves. Isn’t that a pity ? 



















































































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OCT 27 1905 


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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